Category: VA Benefits

Many New Jersey veterans are approaching the age where their health care needs require being admitted to a nursing home. The uncertainty of changing one’s living arrangement is often compounded by the fact that the costs of nursing home care can be, at times, staggering. Fortunately, the Veteran’s Administration provides long-term nursing home care in […]

A recent survey of United States Veterans has revealed that many veterans are losing out on Social Security benefits. As a recent article explains, the problems seem to be that veterans do not know how to access an estimation of their social security benefits, and do not understand the impact of taking benefits early or […]

As a recent article explains, the Obama administration has recently announced that the Department of Veterans Affairs would begin to provide spousal benefits to the spouses of gay and lesbian veterans for the first time. This announcement came despite a current federal statute that limits the receipt of veteran spousal benefits to spouses “of the […]

Many Americans pay their assisted living costs out of pocket. Income sources such as Social Security, veteran pensions, regular pensions, and savings are often key to covering these costs. A recent article discusses several other resources that may assist qualified seniors in paying for needed care. Veteran’s Aid and Attendance Benefit If you or your […]

Amid looming defense cuts, President Barak Obama has assured veterans that funding for their benefits and health care will remain unaffected. As part of the debt compromise passed in July, the military budget will be cut by $500 billion over the next 10 years. Moreover, if Congress can’t find money elsewhere, the military budget may […]

In 2007, NBC News aired a special about VA Aid & Attendance benefits in series about Trading Places: Caring For Your Parents. Here is the video embedded if you want to watch it. (It’s just under 3 minutes.) The video is 5 years old and mainstream awareness of his benefit has not advanced much […]

My wife laughs politely as I refer to our local paper, The Trenton Times, as “the local fish wrapper” – even though I’ve made that joke hundreds of times. Occasionally, I find an article of interest and I can’t help but link to it. Padding back into the house after bringing in the Sunday paper, […]

According to this article, there will be 10,000 Americans turning 65 every day for the next 18 years. That population surge has created a whole new business sector for seniors wanting to “age in place” — which is a fancy way of saying they want to stay home and out of a nursing home. In […]

The VA Aid and Attendance program – where veterans and their surviving spouses can receive a special pension to cover medical expenses – has certain financial eligibility requirements, which include an income and asset test. In short, qualifying applicants cannot own more than a certain level of assets (based in part on their life expectancy). […]